Detroit Lions 2025 camp preview: What's the encore for team's tremendously talented and productive safety duo?

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Over the next couple of weeks, leading into the start of training camp, we're going to take a position-by-position look at the Detroit Lions' roster.

We'll analyze the projected starting situation, highlight a key camp battle, explore a burning question, and set a statistical over/under for the upcoming season.

Today, we’ll be looking at the safeties.

Who is on the roster?

Kerby Joseph, Brian Branch, Avonte Maddox, Dan Jackson, Loren Strickland, Morice Norris, Erick Hallett, Ian Kennelly

Starting lineup outlook

The outlook is pretty, pretty good.

The pairing of Joseph and Branch operated as envisioned after the Lions shifted the latter to safety after caging him to nickel during his rookie season.

Joseph's improvements were one of the underappreciated stories from the 2024 season. He sharply bettered his tackling and reined in his risk-taking, which often left him exposed to big plays over the top when he went hunting for interceptions underneath.

Obviously, Joseph's takeaway production was headline-worthy. His nine interceptions paced the league, after all. But the bigger story might have been how much he developed into a complete safety during his third season. The Lions certainly valued the total package, rewarding him with a market-resetting extension this offseason.

Joseph earned first-team All-Pro honors, but Branch was arguably playing at a higher level at midseason. He's the more versatile of the two, able to not only produce turnovers (four interceptions and a forced fumble in 2024) but also rack up TFLs in run support or reliably cover a tight end man-to-man on third down.

The Lions can extend Branch next offseason, and the price tag could end up similar to the four-year, $84 million pact Joseph signed. Still, it will unquestionably be tempting for the Lions to do everything in their power to keep the tandem together for years to come.

Camp competition to watch

The Lions said goodbye to the third safety on last year's depth chart, Ifeatu Melifonwu. He signed with Miami as a free agent, ending a frustrating four-year run in Detroit, where a string of injuries limited his contributions.

To backfill the loss, the Lions signed Maddox. The versatile defensive back hasn't played safety full-time since his rookie season in 2018. However, he showed that ability was still there while serving as a postseason fill-in for the Eagles in 2023.

The true battle is for the fourth job, where five young options will duke it out. The group includes three returning players and two rookies.

Coming back are Strickland, Norris and Hallett. Strickland and Norris were undrafted signings a year ago, and both had stints on Detroit's 53-man roster. Almost all of their playing time was on special teams, although Norris was forced into action on defense during the team's playoff loss to Washington. Meanwhile, Hallett, a former sixth-round pick for Jacksonville, spent most of last season on Detroit’s practice squad.

The incoming contenders are Jackson and Kennelly. The Lions invested a seventh-round pick on Jackson, a gritty and physical safety who worked his way up from being a walk-on to starting for the talent-rich Georgia defense.

Kennelly is a local talent who played both his high school and college ball in the state. He possesses tremendous size and physical gifts, which could make him a solid developmental candidate for the practice squad if he doesn't make the roster.

A burning question

If there's one criticism of Detroit's starting duo, it's Branch's proclivity for penalties. He was flagged nine times last season, including four pass interference calls, two for unnecessary roughness, and another for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Branch isn't dirty, but he does have a tendency to drop his head when lining up a big hit. It's muscle memory that needs to be conditioned out because it will continue to draw flags and fines.

The good news is it's on the team's radar. Position coach Jim O'Neil had the equipment staff purchase a pad designed to lower Branch's aiming point away from the neck and shoulder area of pass-catchers.

Big hits can unquestionably set a tone, but 15-yard penalties can be killers. Plus, Branch is risking injury to himself — he knocked himself out with a hit against Arizona — or a suspension if the league labels him a repeat offender of rules put in place for player safety.

Setting an over/under

Combined takeaways for Joseph/Branch: 10.5

The starters combined for 12 interceptions and a forced fumble last season. However, there can be an ebb and flow to turnovers from year to year. Joseph has been remarkably consistent, netting at least four interceptions each of his first three seasons, but repeating last year's takeaway count is unlikely.

There's room for Branch to bridge a dip in Joseph's interception tally, and both can be better at forcing fumbles. Branch is seemingly always hunting for a punch-out, while Joseph had some early-career success, knocking two balls loose in his first few starts as a rookie but none in his past 42 starts.